Absconding 1993 blast accused arrested in UP

A man accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts was arrested on Saturday from Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh by a state Special Task Force (STF) team and Gujarat Police. After a tip-off, Qadeer Ahmad was arrested by a team led by officers N.L. Dehai and N.K. Brahmabhatt, a senior official told IANS. The 55-year-old was accused of supplying explosives for the blasts in Mumbai. He has been charged under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act, since repealed, and was on the run. He had briefly stayed in Mumbai but was later holed up in a Gujarat village before he took shelter in Bijnore. A Jamgar court in Gujarat had issued a warrant against him. Police officials say Ahmad had close but “silent” ties with underworld dons Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim. Senior police officer Atul Sharma said Ahmad will be taken on transit remand and produced in the Gujarat court. (IANS)